'AFSPA should stay till police trained to contain insurgency'

Amid demands for scrapping of Armed Forces Special Powers Act in parts of the country, including Jammu and Kashmir and northeastern states, an article in pro-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh journal 'Organiser' has favoured its continuation in such areas till government trains and prepares state police to contain insurgency.

"The government of India should train and prepare the state police to contain insurgency. The Centre should plan for phase-wise extensive training of State Police. Till then, Army may be deployed and they should remain armed with AFSPA," an article in the RSS-aligned weekly said.

The article also sought a probe into the role of some parliamentarians, whom it alleged having "underground connections" with terrorists and "are paid" by them.

"The government of India should investigate some parliamentarians' underground connections with terrorist elements operating in Manipur, Nagaland and Assam and punish them for their patronage to anti-nationals and terrorists. These law-makers raise paid-questions in Parliament. Their action challenges the sovereignty of the country," it says.

The article also took a dig at Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union president Kanhayia Kumar, saying, "There are many Kanhaiyas around who support anti-national activities in the name of 'free speech'. They
are ever ready to defend traitors in Parliament, fight in courts on their behalf and create opinion in favour of these terrorists. Such parliamentarians are reported to be heavily paid by terrorist leaders for raising questions in favour of anti-national elements."

The article said either is there law or the law is dormant due to lack of political will power and it is because of these lacunae, the defence forces are demoralised.

"Terrorists in league with pseudo-human rightists try to implicate army jawans on fake grounds, even sometime misusing girls for allurement. They try to drag jawans into court. The jawan is suspended and his life becomes miserable.

"The family members suffer uncountable agony. The jawan is dragged into Military Court and the Civil Court as well, At this point of time, AFSPA comes at the rescue of such a battling jawan," the pro-RSS said.

It also hit out at so-called human rights activists who act as sympathisers of terrorists, the article accuses them of being "in league" with each other in trying to implicate army jawans on fake grounds and drag them to courts while "even sometimes misusing girls for allurement".